Hasan ibn Ali

Hasan ibn Ali (1 March 625-6 March 670) was the Caliph of the last Rashidun Caliphate in 661, succeeding Ali ibn Abu Talib and preceding the Umayyad caliph Muawiyah I.

Biography
Hasan ibn Ali was born on 1 March 625 in Medina to Ali ibn Abu Talib and Fatimah. He was the grandson of Muhammad through his mother, and was of the Quraysh tribe. Muhammad slaughtered a lamb for the poor when Hasan was born, and Fatimah shaved his head and gave the weight of his hair in silver as a donation to the poor. Hasan was 31 when he defended Caliph Uthman ibn Affan from rebels, although Uthman was killed. During the First Fitna he fought at the battle of Siffin and the battle of Nahrawan alongside his father, but when his father died in 661 and he became Caliph, the war was going well for his enemies. He was forced to make peace, giving the title of Caliph to Muawiyah I, who began the Umayyad Caliphate. Hasan retired to Medina, where he was poisoned by his wife in 670.